Former Philippine president Benigno Aquino dies aged 61
- The son of two of the Philippines’ democracy icons died at 6.30am of kidney failure as a result of diabetes, his family said
- He oversaw the country’s fastest period of growth since the 1970s and challenged Beijing’s expansive South China Sea claims
Former Philippine president Benigno Aquino, the son of two of the Southeast Asian country’s democracy icons, died on Thursday.
He died “peacefully in his sleep” at 6.30am on Thursday, his family said in a statement. The cause of death was kidney failure as a result of diabetes, it added.
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Former Philippine president Benigno Aquino dies at 61
“It is with profound sadness that I learned this morning of the passing of former president Benigno Aquino,” Supreme Court justice Marvic Leonen, who was appointed by Aquino in 2012, said in a statement. “It was an honour to have served with him. He will be missed.”
“We commiserate and condole with the family and loved ones of former president Benigno Simeon ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III as we extend our condolences on his untimely demise,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said. “We are grateful to the former president for his contributions and services to the country and we ask our people to offer a prayer for the eternal repose of the former chief executive.”
Known popularly as Noynoy, Aquino rode a wave of public support to the presidency after the 2009 death of his mother, the revered “People Power” leader Corazon Aquino, who was herself president from 1986 until 1992.
